Boeing 314

Information about Boeing 314

314 Clipper
A Boeing 314 “Clipper” on the water.
TypeFlying boat airliner
ManufacturerBoeing Airplane Company
Maiden flight1938-06-07
Introduced1939
Retired1946
StatusNo intact examples
Primary usersPan American World Airways
British Overseas Airways Corporation
United States Navy
Produced1938-1941
Number built12


The Boeing 314 “Clipper” was a long-range flying boat produced by the Boeing Airplane Company between 1938 and 1941. One of the largest aircraft of the time, it used the massive wing of Boeing’s earlier XB-15 bomber prototype to achieve the range necessary for flights across the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Twelve Clippers were built for Pan American World Airways, three of which were sold to BOAC in 1941 before delivery.

Design and development

The Boeing 314 was a response to Pan American's request for a flying boat with unprecedented range capability that could augment the airline's trans-Pacific Martin M-130. Boeing's bid was successful and Pan American signed a contract for six aircraft on 21 July 1936. Boeing engineers adapted the cancelled XB-15's 149 foot (45.5 m) wing, and replaced that bomber's 850 hp (640 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines with the more powerful 1,600 hp (1,194 kW) Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone. The Clipper's triple tail was chosen after Boeing had tested conventional and twin tails which did not provide enough controllability for safe flight.

Internally, the 314 used a series of heavy ribs and spars to create a robust fuselage and cantilevered wing. This sturdy structure negated the need for external drag-inducing struts to brace the wings, something other flying boats of the day could not boast. Boeing addressed the flying boats' other drag-inducing issue - namely stabilizing pontoons - by incorporating sponsons into the hull structure. The sponsons, which were broad lateral extensions placed at the water line, on both the port and starboard sides of the hull, served several purposes: they provided a wide platform to stabilize the craft while floating on water, they acted as an entryway for passengers boarding the aircraft and they were shaped to contribute lift while the plane was in flight. To fly the long ranges needed for trans-Pacific service, the 314 carried 4,246 US gallons (19,300 L) of gasoline. The later 314A model carried a further 1,200 US gallons (4,540 L). To quench the radial engines’ thirst for oil, a capacity of 300 US gallons (1,135 L) was required.

Pan Am's "Clippers" were built for luxury, a necessity given the long duration of transoceanic flights. The seats could be converted into 36 bunks for overnight accommodation; with a cruise speed of only 188 mph (300 km/h), many flights lasted over twelve hours. The aircraft had a lounge and dining area, and the galleys were crewed by chefs from four-star hotels. Men and women were provided with separate dressing rooms. Although the transatlantic flights were only operated for three months in 1939, their standard of luxury has not been matched by heavier-than-air transport since then; they were a form of travel for the super-rich, at $675 return from New York to Southampton (about $9,590 in year 2006 dollars[1]). Compare the Concorde, which was priced at around $10,000 for a round trip.[2]

Operational history

The first 314, the Honolulu Clipper, entered regular service on the San Francisco-Hong Kong route in January 1939. A one-way trip on this route took over six days to complete. Commercial passenger service lasted less than three years, ending when the United States entered World War II in December 1941.

At the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, the Pacific Clipper was enroute to New Zealand. Rather than risk flying back to Honolulu and being shot down by Japanese aircraft, it was decided to fly west to New York. Starting on December 8 1941 at Auckland, New Zealand, the Pacific Clipper covered over 8,500 miles via such exotic locales as Surabaya, Karachi, Bahrain, Khartoum and Leopoldville. The Pacific Clipper landed at Pan American's LaGuardia Field seaplane base at 7:12 on the morning of January 6 1942.

The Yankee Clipper flew across the Atlantic on a route from Southamption to New York with intermediate stops at Foynes, Ireland, Botwood, Newfoundland, and Shediac, New Brunswick. The inaugural trip occurred on June 24, 1939.

The Clipper fleet was pressed into military service during World War II, and the aircraft were used for ferrying personnel and equipment to the European and Pacific fronts. These aircraft were given the military designation C-98. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled to the Casablanca Conference in a Boeing 314. Winston Churchill also flew on the aircraft several times, adding to its fame during the war era.

After the war several Clippers were returned to Pan American, but the type had been made obsolete by new long-range land planes, such as the Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation, and by the wartime construction of a network of landing strips that gave access to nearly the entire world. The 314 was removed from scheduled service in 1946 and grounded permanently in 1950. Of the twelve aircraft built, three were lost to accidents, although only one of those resulted in fatalities, with 24 perishing in Lisbon, Portugal, February 22 1943.

Except for some bits of scrap metal housed in museums, nothing remains of the 12 Boeing 314 aircraft.

Diverted flight of Pacific Clipper

The Pacific Clipper was a Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat famous for having completed Pan American World Airways' first flight between California and New York the long way by traveling West. The flight began December 2, 1941 at the Pan Am base on Treasure Island, California for its scheduled passenger service to Auckland, New Zealand.[3][4]

The Clipper made scheduled stops in San Pedro, California, Honolulu, Hawaii, Canton Island, Suva, Fiji and Nouméa, New Caledonia. The aircraft was en route to Auckland when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Cut off from the United States and commanding a valuable military asset, Captain Robert Ford was directed to strip company markings, registration and insignia from the aircraft and proceed in secret to the Marine Terminal, LaGuardia Field, New York.

Ford and his crew successfully flew home via:

Variants

Model 314 Clipper
Initial production version with 1500 hp (1119 kW) Wright R-2600 Double Cyclone engines, 6 built
Model 314A Clipper
Improved version with 1600 hp (1193 kW) Double Cyclone engines with a larger propeller, additional 1,200 US gal (4542 litres) fuel capacity and a revised interior, 6 built

Operators

Aircraft operated by Pan Am
Registration Type Name In service Remarks
NC18601314Honolulu Clipper1939-1945Sunk by US Navy
NC18602314California Clipper1939-1950Later renamed Pacific Clipper and sold to World Airways. Scrapped 1950.
NC18603314Yankee Clipper1939-1943Started Transatlantic mail service. Crashed February 22, 1943 in Lisbon, Portugal.
NC18604314Atlantic Clipper1939-1946Salvaged for parts.
NC18605314Dixie Clipper1939-1950Started transatlantic passenger service, later sold to World Airways. Scrapped 1950.
NC18606314American Clipper1939-1946Later sold to World Airways. Scrapped 1950.
NC18609314APacific Clipper1941-1946Later sold to Universal Airlines. Damaged by storm and salvaged for parts.
NC18611314AAnzac Clipper1941-1951Sold to Universal Airlines 1946, American International Airways 1947, World Airways 1948. Sold privately 1951, destroyed at Baltimore, Maryland 1951.
NC18612314ACape Town Clipper1941-1946Sold to: U.S. Navy - 1942, Sold to: American International Airways - 1947, Sunk at sea by the United States Coast Guard on October 14, 1947


Aircraft operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation
Registration Type Name In service Remarks
G-AGBZ314A (#2081)Bristol1941-1948Originally NC18607, sold to General Phoenix Corporation, Baltimore as NC18607 in 1948
G-AGCA314A (#2082)Berwick1941-1948Originally NC18608, sold to General Phoenix Corporation, Baltimore as NC18608 in 1948
G-AGCB314A (#2084)Bangor1941-1948Originally NC18610, sold to General Phoenix Corporation, Baltimore as NC18610 in 1948

Specifications (314A Clipper)

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[5]

General characteristics

* Crew: 11, including 2 cabin stewards* Capacity:
  • * Daytime: 68 passengers
  • Nighttime: 36 passengers* Payload: 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) of mail and cargo
  • Length: 106 ft 0 in (32.33 m)* Wingspan: 152 ft 0 in (46.36 m)
  • Height: 20 ft 4½ in (6.22 m)* Wing area: ft² (m²)* Empty weight: 48,400 lb (21,900 kg)* Loaded weight: 84,000 lb (38,000 kg)*

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 210 mph (180 knots, 340 km/h)* Cruise speed: 188 mph (163 knots, 302 km/h) at 11,000 ft (3,400 m)* Range: 3,685 mi (3,201 nm, 5,896 km) normal cruise* Service ceiling: 19,600 ft (5,980 m)

Popular culture

The Boeing 314 "Pan Am Clipper" has been featured in many instances of pop culture.

References

1. ^ Inflation Calculator. Bank of Canada. Retrieved on 2006-08-20.
2. ^ British Airways Concorde. Travel Scholar. Sound Message, LLC. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.
3. ^ Dover, Ed (1999). The Long Way Home. Paladwr Press. ISBN 1-888962-00-3
4. ^ Cohen, Stan (1985). Wings to the Orient, Pan-Am Clipper Planes 1935-1945. Pictorial Histories. ISBN 0-933126-61-1
5. ^ Jane, Fred T. “The Boeing 314-A Clipper.” Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. p. 211. ISBN 1 85170 493 0.
6. ^ The Raider's Flying Boat. Indy Gear (2006-08-19). Retrieved on 2006-08-19.
  1. Inflation calculation based on Canadian inflation rate (http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/inflation_calc.html)

External links

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 •  • [ e]
Boeing airliners
Piston-engined: 40A 80 221 247 307 314 377 Jet-engined: 367-80 707/720 717 727 737 (BBJ) 747 (SP/-400/LCF) 757 767 777 In development: 747-8 787 Proposed: Y1 Y3 Not developed: 2707 7J7 NLA Sonic Cruiser
 •  • [ e]
Boeing military tranport and support aircraft
Piston-engined transports: C-73 C-75 C-97 C-98 Jet transports: C-135 C-137 SAM 26000 SAM 27000 CC-137 YC-14 C-17 C-22 VC-25A C-32 C-40 Tanker-transports: KB-29 KB-50 KC-97 KC-135 KC-137 KC-10 KC-767 Trainers: PT-13/PT-17/PT-18/PT-27 T-43 T-45 Surveillance: EC-135 EC-18 E-3 E-4 E-6 E-8 E-10 E-767 737 AEW&C Reconnaissance: NC-135 OC-135B RC-135 WC-135 Experimental: X-20 X-36 X-37 X-40 UAVs: Bird of Prey X-50 A160
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A flying boat is a type of aircraft which uses its fuselage as a floating hull, generally stabilised on the water surface by underwing floats or stub projections. It is a specialised form of seaplane, an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water utilising a carriage
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Boeing Commercial Airplanes

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Founded 1916, Seattle, WA
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Key people Scott Carson, CEO
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PA ICAO
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Clipper
Founded 1927 (as Pan American Airways)
Hubs Miami International Airport
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The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd.
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A flying boat is a type of aircraft which uses its fuselage as a floating hull, generally stabilised on the water surface by underwing floats or stub projections. It is a specialised form of seaplane, an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water utilising a carriage
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Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Division
Founded 1916, Seattle, WA
Headquarters Renton, WA, USA

Key people Scott Carson, CEO
Industry Aerospace
Products Commercial airliners
Employees 54,149
Parent The Boeing Company
Subsidiaries Jeppesen
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Type Heavy bomber
Manufacturer Boeing
Maiden flight 1937-10-15
Introduced n/a
Status Cancelled
Primary user United States Army Air Corps
Number built 1 prototype
Variants Boeing XC-105

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PAA Callsign
Clipper
Founded 1927 (as Pan American Airways)
Hubs Miami International Airport
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Houston Intercontinental Airport
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The Martin M-130 was a rare but influential plane designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. Only three of these aircraft were built and all were sold to Pan American Airways at $417,000 per copy: the China Clipper, the Philippine Clipper and the
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Type Supersonic airliner
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Maiden flight 2 March 1969
Introduction 21 January 1976
Retired 26 November 2003
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